The Latest News from Our Field

We must take a comprehensive approach and start from the bottom up. That is the focus of a bill I introduced, called the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015.

A new online poll finds about 10 percent of U.S. adults use e-cigarettes, significantly higher than a recent government estimate of 2.6 percent.

A driver alcohol detection system that would be installed in cars could be ready for production in five years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced.

At least 175,000 doses of prescription drugs were stolen from 27 pharmacies and two methadone clinics during the Baltimore riots in April, according to Police Commissioner Anthony Batts. He said the stolen drugs have led to turf wars and violence over their illegal resale.

Methamphetamine is growing in popularity among gay and bisexual black and Hispanic men in New York, according to The New York Times.

An increasing number of children under age 6 are being exposed to marijuana, according to a new study. Three-quarters of cases involve children who ingest the drug in the form of brownies, cookies and other foods containing marijuana.

Abuse-deterrent formulations of opioid painkillers are making it more difficult for people to misuse the medications, but have not eliminated the problem of opioid abuse, experts tell The New York Times.

A website that tracks street prices for illicit prescription drugs allows law enforcement and academics to follow drug trends, according to The Denver Post.

A growing number of counterfeit drug manufacturers are using call centers in the Philippines to facilitate sales, The Wall Street Journal reports.

A new study finds 14 percent of American adults currently have an alcohol use disorder. Many have never been treated, Time reports. Thirty percent of those interviewed said they had an alcohol-related problem at some time in their lives.

Inmates who are addicted to opioid drugs who continue to receive methadone maintenance treatment in prison are more likely to continue treatment once they are released, according to a new study.

The three largest U.S. tobacco companies this week announced they will drop their lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration, after the agency said it would reconsider rules about the companies’ product labels.

Officials in Beijing, China said they will make public the names of people who repeatedly ignore the city’s tough new smoking ban. Smoking will be outlawed in public places, including restaurants, offices and public transportation, NBC News reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 29- Thursday, June 4, 2015.

As marijuana use and potency increases, the demand for treatment for cannabis use disorder is on the rise. Frances Levin, MD, Kennedy Leavy Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, explains what treatments are available and who is seeking help for the disorder.

Volunteer sober groups are expanding at summer music festivals, The New York Times reports. These groups are expected at more than a dozen festivals this year.

Drug use among American workers appears to be increasing, based on the results of drug tests. Traces of drugs were found in 3.9 percent of urine tests conducted for employers last year, up from 3.7 percent in 2013, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Hospitals in some states, including New Mexico, Texas and Wyoming, have developed prescription painkiller tracking systems tailored to emergency rooms, NPR reports. The systems are designed to reduce prescription drug abuse.

The peak ages for starting to misuse prescription stimulants, such as drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, are between 16 and 19, a new study finds. The researchers say education programs should start in middle school to keep more young people from starting to misuse prescription stimulants.

Presidential candidates are discussing drug abuse in campaign events in Iowa and New Hampshire, NPR reports.

Taking certain prescription drugs, including opioids and anti-anxiety drugs known as benzodiazepines, appears to be linked with an increased risk of committing homicide, a new study suggests.

Australian researchers have released the first-ever report on worldwide addiction statistics. They found about 240 million people around the world are dependent on alcohol, more than a billion people smoke, and about 15 million people use injection drugs, such as heroin.

The creator of the Silk Road website, Ross Ulbricht, was sentenced Friday to life in prison, NBC News reports. Silk Road sold illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine and LSD.

Federal employees were told this week that marijuana continues to be illegal for them, even though medical and recreational use of the drug is now legal in a growing number of states.

Using marijuana and alcohol together greatly increases the amount of THC, marijuana’s active ingredient, in the blood, a new study concludes. Using the two substances together raises THC levels much more than using marijuana by itself.